More than 4000 business leaders, marketers, IT and digital experts, and creatives packed out Sydney's International Convention Centre this morning, as part of the sold-out Adobe Symposium.
The event, which runs for two days, showcases Adobe's latest innovations in areas including marketing for retail and financial services, as well as technologies including biometrics, virtual reality and augmented reality.
Thursday morning's keynote included a rage of speakers from Adobe, Viacom, Emergent, BRING, and electronic music duo The Presets.
Adobe ANZ managing director Suzanne Steele opened the keynote with the statement, "Transformation is constant. It's never truly complete. If we don't change, we die.
"Australia and New Zealand is a hotbed of innovation and excellence. You are spearheading change not just here, but globally.
"We are at a point where organisations are dealing with consumer disengagement and lack of loyalty. Globally this is a mega trend, but Australia is feeling this particularly strongly as businesses are engaging en masse in digital transformation," adds Steele.
"Adobe is leading the way in enabling brands to transform and deliver CXM through continuous innovation in Adobe Experience Cloud. This year at Adobe Symposium, attendees will be inspired by speakers from around the world who are tackling how to create amazing, relevant experiences for customers, all in real-time.
Adobe Asia Pacific vice president of marketing Alvaro del Pozo outlined Adobe's three clouds: Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, and Experience Cloud.
"Every company must transform and maniacally focus on the customer experience. At Adobe, we've gone through our own transformation that has touched every part of our organisation.
"We sold software like Photoshop and Illustrator in boxes. We were only able to deliver innovation every 12-18 months. That model worked well for us for a decade, but we realised we weren't attracting the next generation of user. Despite our success, we had to change. Our business model and the way we engage with our customers," says del Pozo.
"We decided to move to a subscription-based business model. It put the customer front and centre and we became a company that delivers the always-on experience. We rely as much on data as creativity, and customer intent. In the end, we became a more successful company.
Adobe APAC Experience Business senior director Steve Hammond explained that customer experience management (CXM) is about understanding customers, data-driven decisions, orchestrating experiences, and making experiences relevant. Underpinning all of those is AI management and delivering at scale.
"Adhering to a set of privacy principles is the best way to engage with a customer," Hammond adds.
Adobe Experience Cloud senior solutions manager Ronald Li took audience through the process of how Adobe Experience Cloud converts anonymous users into paying customers, through targeted advertising and different devices such as mobile apps and desktop software.
Adobe vice president of experience marketing Alex Amado explained in a similar demo how marketers can use predictive analytics to keep the customer interested in their products. The entire experience was powered by using the right data to market products to a user.
Adobe Symposium also recognised its ANZ partners through the Adobe Partner Awards. Australian companies including Accordant, eWave, Biztech, and Resolution Marketing Services took our awards in five different categories.
"Delivering seamless, personal and real-time customer experiences is critical to business success. The winners of the Partner Awards are committed to enabling brands to deliver amazing experiences and I congratulate them on their achievements. Partners play a key role in Adobe's business and I look forward to continuing our work together," says Steele.
- Adobe Digital Experience Partner of the Year 2019 – Accordant
- Adobe Customer Success Digital Experience Partner of the Year 2019 -Accordant
- Adobe Multi-Solution Implementation Partner of the Year 2019 - Biztech
- ANZ Marketo Partner of the Year 2019 - Resolution Marketing Services
- ANZ Magento Partner of the Year 2019 - eWave
TechDay is live at Adobe Symposium Sydney this week with updates as they happen.
